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A third road to the past? Historical scholarship in the age of big data

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  • Roberto Franzosi

Abstract

Is a third passage to the past possible, beyond Elton's and Fogel's two roads of narrative history and scientific/quantitative history? One that would combine narrative history's focus on the event, on individuals and their actions, at a particular time and place, to scientific/quantitative history's emphasis on explicit behavioral models based on social-science theories? That is the question this article addresses. It illustrates a computer-assisted methodology for the study of narrative—quantitative narrative analysis (QNA)—that does just that. Based on the 5 Ws + H of narrative—Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How—QNA quantifies events without losing the event itself, without losing people behind numbers, diachronic time behind synchronic statistical coefficients. When used in conjunction with dynamic and interactive data visualization tools (and new natural language processing tools), QNA may provide a third unforeseen road to the past.

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  • Roberto Franzosi, 2017. "A third road to the past? Historical scholarship in the age of big data," Historical Methods: A Journal of Quantitative and Interdisciplinary History, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(4), pages 227-244, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:vhimxx:v:50:y:2017:i:4:p:227-244
    DOI: 10.1080/01615440.2017.1361879
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    Cited by:

    1. Karlsson, Tobias, 2019. "Strikes and Lockouts in Sweden: Reconsidering Raphael’s List of Work Stoppages 1859-1902," Lund Papers in Economic History 192, Lund University, Department of Economic History.
    2. Roberto Franzosi, 2021. "What’s in a text? Bridging the gap between quality and quantity in the digital era," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 55(4), pages 1513-1540, August.

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